Pages

Friday, 24 May 2013

5 Betcha' Didn't Knows: Toronto

Toronto: a city of many
identities, cultures and approaches to life. A place that never really gets
tired of itself and continually finds new ways to recreate its fabric. But like
any established urban area, Toronto holds onto little known facts and secrets
that charm the people and communities within its ever expanding boundaries. The
more intimate you become with its grid-iron history and financial bourgeois,
the more you learn about each little quirk hidden behind the surge of life in
The Big Smoke. Below: some of the lesser known aspects of our fair city.

1)Front Street was
Toronto’s Original Shoreline

It’s kind of a scary thought when you
consider that everything South of Front Street (Harbourfront, The Port Lands,
The Rogers Centre, The CN Tower and Lakeshore, to name a few) exists on infill
land that was not so long ago covered in lake water. I mean, seriously…The
person that decided ‘Hey, I think we need more
space in Toronto…Why don’t we just create
more land?’ and then proceeded to direct people to throw a shit ton of dirt
into Lake Ontario until a large portion of it disappeared must have had some
pretty ridiculous sized gonads.

If you look closely, you'll see them mounted on a steeple.

This massive
campaign to extend the shoreline began in 1850 and lasted over 100 years until we can only presume it
was decided that we didn’t want to live any closer to Americans. Today, little
evidence exists proving just how far we actually got, but if you walk from
Union Station to The Esplanade and imagine what it would be like to swim that
same distance, you’ll probably build an appreciation for one of Toronto’s
biggest engineering feats.

This restriction is partially
responsible for rapid economic decline during the post-industrial age of the
1970’s and beyond – around the same time Toronto was all like ‘screw you, poor
people!’ and successfully annexed The Junction, furthering the marginalization
of this community. The commercial areas along Dundas West were all but alive
until prohibition was lifted in 1997, causing an influx of local bars and
eateries and (inevitably) hipsters to help re-boost its economy. And people
wonder what good alcohol can cause.

3)‘Little Italy’ Isn’t Italian

It would be silly to name an area after an
ethnicity that isn’t actually prevalent there, no? One might assume so. Turns
out you assumed wrong. Welcome to
Toronto’s ‘Little Italy’, a place that couldn’t be more Portuguese, according
to Census Canada. Now take a walk along College Street West and really pay attention to the signs and
advertising alongside gelato shops and bakeries; most are owned and operated by
people of a Portuguese background. In fact, a fairly large area that should
rightfully be named ‘Little Portugal’ would span South of College to Queen and
Northwest to St.Clair.

Which begs the question: why the hell is
it called ‘Little Italy’? Actually, there’s a (not necessarily good) reason: marketing. When it comes
to attracting tourist dollars, ‘Little Italy’ translates to suave, lush and
authentic when ‘Little Portugal’ doesn’t really translate into anything.
Branding communities like this, while ultimately economically viable, doesn’t
always represent its members accurately, so watch out for those misnomers and
don’t let a name influence your perspective.

4)‘Cabbagetown’ isn’t Irish.

In another twist of misinformed irony, recent
demographic studies show that the Toronto jurisdiction currently known as ‘Cabbagetown’
(usually an alias for a place that is dominantly Irish) is actually devoid of Irish
people. In fact, the original Irish settlers in Toronto occupied what is now Regent
Park, Moss Park and Corktown - South of the aforementioned area.

You see, similar to the plight of ‘Little
Italy’, ‘Cabbagetown’ was the victim of a marketing scheme designed for profit
instead of accuracy. Because Regent Park was a virtual slum for thirty years
before its current redevelopment project, ‘Cabbagetown’ was relocated – only the
people remained in the same place and the more expensive properties to the
North assumed the new name. While it remains an attractive prospect to live in ‘Cabbagetown’
today, you’re actually just moving into an area full of non-Irish, old white people.
But go ahead and decorate your lawn with shamrocks, anyway. It’s not like there’s
any Irish people around to get offended.

Totally a place people want to live.

5)There’s a Cemetery Full of Babies Under Yorkville.

So many dead baby jokes could be made
right now. It’s completely true, and gravely apparent (zzzing!) during almost
every construction project when little baby skeletons are unearthed by
bulldozers. Before Yorkville was paved and spattered by condos and upscale
boutiques, it was a secular
cemetery for families that couldn’t afford proper burials. Known as ‘Potter’s
Field’, an estimated 6700 people were laid to rest there, including many
prematurely deceased babies. Not creepy at all.

Look behind closed doors and secrets
become apparent. In Toronto, there’s no end to the things you can learn if you’re
interested in digging a little. Just don’t dig in Yorkville.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Welcome to lost and found!

I'm glad you've found your way over. This blog is maintained and operated by Aaron Turpin and cronicles the activities of a Student-Employee/Traveller/Creative Thinker. Check out what I've been up to lately by cruising the various tabs above and reading the posts. Leave a comment if you wish!

About Me

I am a curious person by nature and have an immense passion for learning and new experiences. Travelling and stepping out of my comfort bubble are huge parts of my life. I try to live creatively with everything I do while supporting the global community as both a leader and a student.